Keep Counting
by Phelpsist
Summary: "I remember a temple, the light of divinity, the radiance of a god. That was you, wasn't it, my lord?" AU G1. Starscream/Sunstorm and Shockwave/Starscream


AN:/ I've always found Sunstorm's characterization interesting, and it's unfortunate he's never been a central character. His personality in this story is based loosely off his Animated counterpart. Despite this, though, this is still a G1 AU. Other characters should remain fairly close to how they appeared in G1. Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome, as always. Pairings for this chapter are Sunstorm/Starscream and and a mentions of past Shockwave/Starscream.

Warnings:/ Slash, religious fanaticism, violence

-x

_The clone was Shockwave's idea, mostly. An idea born of energon shortages and young scientists who wanted to change the world. "Starscream, what's the one thing that's self-sustaining, the one thing we haven't been able to create?" "Love?" A dreamy answer, I'll admit. "No, Starscream. Nuclear fusion." "I liked my answer better." Appearently so did he, because what we created that evening was certainly not nuclear fusion. _

_After our love proved it wasn't any kind of sustainable, we returned to nuclear fusion. A solar powered fusion reactor housed in an augmented molecular structure. A mech able to function solely off of energy from the sun. It would revolutionize science. _

_"_Starscream, is the clone ready? We have to transfer the reactor soon if you want it to be successful."

I stared at the greyed form below me, and had to convince myself it wasn't my own offline frame lying on the table. _Just a clone, Starscream. He's just lucky enough to look like you._

"Yes, yes, go ahead." I answered him distractedly, as my hand idly stroked the face that was was lucky enough to look like mine. I smiled softly.

"Well, then stop courting it and open the canopy."

I snatched my hand away and glared at him. I couldn't find any reason _logical _enough to defend my actions in the eyes of Shockwave, so I held back the almost instinctive retort and slid the clone's canopy open roughly.

Shockwave executed the commands to release the reactor. He removed it carefully from its casing. The guarded expression of pain in his single optic delighted me. He laid the reactor in the clone's chest, just behind the empty spark chamber, and connected it to the main energon lines. The lines flared, and a bright yellow energy ran through the clone's frame. Systems whirred and clicked to life, though the frame remained greyed.

"The processor should be functional now. There's no way it can comprehend anything without a spark, but it should at least be sorting itself out. The reactor has about four hours of stored energy, but you'll have to add spark energy for it to be self-sustaining. Get to your lab and stabilize it as as soon as possible."

I nodded and I closed the canopy, disconnecting the clone from the monitors. I gathered the clone in my arms and as I turned to leave, Shockwave spoke again, "And Starscream? Be sure to touch the housing with nothing but your spark. Be careful." My processor hitched. Surely he wasn't _caring _again. "Your melted plating would damage the reactor." He smirked and turned back to his computer.

I spun around, a million remarks threatened to come out, but the clone had become an increasingly heavy and curiously warm influence. I left Shockwave's lab with as much dignity and grace as I could manage. I shifted the clone in my arms. I hadn't considered that I would, essentially, be carrying myself all the way back to my lab, and frankly, the idea didn't appeal to me.

_I am free. Who is this? He's compelling._

_He's looking at me. He is beautiful. I want to speak to him. I want to __**worship**__ him._

_"Yes, yes, go ahead."_

_He's touching my face. A god. _

I draped the clone over my wings and held his hands over my spark chamber as I fired my thrusters. I needed to get to my base before the reserve power was depleted, but it hadn't occurred to me how I was going to transport him them. I certainly couldn't carry him in my arms the whole distance.

I took off, smiling as Cybertron grew smaller beneath me. I had always loved flying, it was relaxing.

I zoned out, and almost dropped the clone in shock when something impossibly hot pressed into my back. I managed a less than gentle landing and laid the clone on the ground. I cautiously pressed a hand to his canopy, pulling back quickly when it burned me.

"I don't think this wasn't supposed to happen." I mumbled to myself, pushing open his canopy quickly with my null ray.

The reactor pulsed, and a wave of heat blasted me as I leaned over him to look. Against my better judgment, I commed Shockwave.

/_Uh, Shockwave? This mech is really hot./_

_/Yes, Starscream, I noticed how fond you were of it back in the lab./ _I could hear the sneer through his words. My burned hands and wings forced me to ignore the way my face burned at the comment.

_/You know what I meant, his core temperature is way higher than normal!/_

_/It's probably the solar reactors trying to come online without proper processor clearance. You didn't take it flying, did you?/_

_/You didn't tell me not to!/_

_/I forgot you have the logic programming of a sparkling. My mistake, it won't happen again. You'll have to initiate the spark transform now./_

"Primus..." I growl and stare into the lifeless eyes of my clone.

"I had wanted to do this somewhere private, but I don't think you'll last long enough. Sorry, mech." _Primus be damned if I let Shockwave see I failed._

I looked around in a strange bout of self-consciousness as I opened our spark chambers. I steeled myself and pressed my spark almost violently to his empty chamber.

I could feel his housing singing mine a bit, but the pain was bearable. I opened my subspace and pulled the device Shockwave had constructed. It was meant to split my spark, allowing half of it to travel to another frame. He had assured me it would only work on mine, due to a mutation we had discovered on exploits completely devoid of scientific interest. I smirked at the memory for a moment.

Driving Shockwave out of my processor, I touched the device to my spark, turned it on, and pushed it into the clone's spark chamber.

For a moment, everything was dark.

_Then there was light. And heat. Heat, everywhere. This is amazing._

_What is your name?_

_"Primus..." He growls and looks into my eyes. _

_I don't hear what else he says. Primus presses his spark to mine and my life begins._


End file.
